President Discusses Homeland Security with WI First Responders
Remarks by the President to the Wisconsin First Responders
The Radisson Hotel
Appleton, Wisconsin
12:39 P.M. CST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, very much. I was just looking for a
salad. (Laughter.) Thank you all for your welcome. Thanks for
letting me barge in. Please sit down.
Ed, thanks for letting me come in to say something to our first
responders here in this state. First, I want to thank you for your
service to our country. We're at war, and we better be ready on all
fronts. And so the first responder effort and the strategy with the
local, state, and federal government is really an important part of
making sure that we do everything we can to do our solemn duty, which
is to protect our fellow citizens from harm.
We've got a big and vast country, which makes the task particularly
tough. So the best way to protect our citizens from harm is to find
the enemy, bring them to justice, to get them, before they try to get
us. And that's exactly what the country is trying to -- (applause.)
We're on the hunt. There's a lot of really fine folks wearing this
nation's uniform that are making the world and America more safe and
secure. If you happen to have a relative in the military, you thank
them on behalf of the Commander-in-Chief, for this job they're doing
and for the sacrifice that they're making. This military of ours is
fantastic. It's really got unbelievably capable people. My job is to
make sure they get the best: the best equipment, the best training.
Any time you put anybody in harm's way, we have a solemn duty to make
sure that they're well-equipped. And there are a lot of good folks out
there running them down right now. And that's exactly what this
government must do and will continue to do.
I am -- I just came from giving a speech on the economy, but part
of the challenges we face is -- my job as the Commander-in-Chief, is to
provide people as direct assessment I can about the future of this
country. And the problem we face right now is we love freedom, and
we're not going to change, and the people that we fight hate freedom.
That's just the way it is.
I've always felt that September the 11th was going to be -- the
type of war that started that day was going to be the type of war that
I constantly have to explain to the American people. It's going to be
different. I suspect there's some old vets here. It's easy to find
infantry and airplanes and a flotilla of ships. It's hard to find
people that are so cold-blooded in their murder that they hide in caves
and the dark corners of cities. But that's what we're going to do.
We're going to find them.
The other thing is, is that you've just got to know that anytime
you see a threat after September the 11th, you've got to take it
seriously. It used to be that oceans would protect us, that we can
say, well, there's a threat over here, we can deal with it if we feel
like it, but we're protected by oceans. September the 11th taught us
another lesson, that this nation must always deal with threats before
they fully materialize; that we've got to -- in order to do our duty,
in order for me to do mine as the Commander-in-Chief, if we see a
threat, we'll take action of some kind. Obviously, the military option
is the last option, not the first.
But I want to remind you that I saw a threat. I looked at the
intelligence and saw a threat in Iraq. The United States Congress
looked at the very same intelligence, and it saw a threat. The United
Nations Security Council looked at the intelligence, and it saw a
threat, as well. We went back to the United Nations and said, look,
this guy is a problem, he's a threat. He used gas on his own people.
He used weapons of mass destruction on his own people. He's a -- we've
got to take it seriously. September the 11th taught us a lesson. So
we came together and said, look, get rid of your weapons, Mr. Saddam
Hussein. He said, no.
So I was faced with a choice: Do I trust the word of a madman, or
do I do I my duty to defend America? And given that choice, I will
defend our country every time. (Applause.)
We're living in historic times. It's a different kind of war, and
all of us are called to do our part. And I want to thank you. I came
by to thank -- they said there's some people who are on the front lines
of helping us secure the country. I said, I want to come by. I don't
care about your politics. What I do care about is the fact that you're
serving. And I wanted to come by and thank you for that. I want to
thank you for doing everything you can to -- to help somebody, to
prepare our country. I just want you to know, I'm going to do my part,
too.
It's a fantastic country we have. It's a -- it's been such an
amazing experience to see the character of this nation, a nation which
refuses to buckle under to the threat of terrorism; a nation which
showed incredible resolve; a nation in which fire fighters were willing
to rush into burning buildings to save their fellow citizens; a nation
also which has got an incredible amount of compassion -- you know what
I'm talking about when I talk about people who are willing to love
their neighbor just like they love themselves in the community in which
you live. To me, that's the courage of the country which defines us,
but it's also the heart of the country which defines us, as well.
So thanks for letting me come by to say hi. I'm keeping office
hours now, so I've got to head back -- (laughter) -- head back over
yonder, as they say in Texas. (Laughter.) But I, again, want to thank
you for your service.
May God bless your work. May God bless your families. And may God
continue to bless our great country. Thank you. (Applause.)